environmental perspective environmental perspective on creation and restoration carol w. witham,...
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Environmental PerspectiveEnvironmental Perspective on Creation and Restoration
www.vernalpools.org
Carol W. Witham, VernalPools.Org
www.vernalpools.org
Special ConsiderationsSpecial Considerations pertaining to California vernal pools
87% of this ecosystem has already been lost
On-site avoidance results in highly fragmented “postage stamp” preserves that are difficult to manage
“No net loss” mitigation often results in unnatural vernal pool densities
Loss of the upland matrix can cause adverse impacts to critical ecosystem functions
We can create puddles, but are they really vernal pools?
www.vernalpools.org
National Research CouncilNational Research Council on wetland creation and restoration
In June 2001, the National Research Council (NRC) issued a report entitled:
Compensating for Wetland Losses under the Clean Water Act. Some of the
important conclusions from this report include:
Some wetland types are difficult to recreate
Mitigation wetlands are often designed “too wet”
Mitigation often fails to consider watershed function
Decreases in available land may lead to conflict
www.vernalpools.org
Regulatory Guidance LetterRegulatory Guidance Letter Corps’ response to the NRC report
An ecosystem approach that considers watersheds
Mitigation as functional “debits” and “credits”
Preservation of threatened wetlands as mitigation
Off-site and out-of-kind mitigation may be appropriate
Raphanos decision and guidance???
On October 31, 2001, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a Regulatory
Guidance Letter (RGL) addressing the need to increase the effectiveness and
compliance of mitigation through:
Despite the Corps’ Regulatory Guidance
Letter suggesting that off-site and
out-of-kind mitigation may be appropriate
for to (re)create wetlands, vernal pools are
endangered species habitat:
www.vernalpools.org
Endangered Species ActEndangered Species Act FWS frowns on out-of-kind mitigation
www.vernalpools.org
Recent ImprovementsRecent Improvements in approach and design
Since 2001, regulators have moved away from the on-site mitigation and
consultants have worked hard to create more natural looking landscapes:
Fewer “postage stamp” preserves with the pools
“packed in” like sardines
Improvements in design have lead to more “natural”
looking mitigation wetlands
Off-site mitigation and banking allows for larger
landscapes and enhanced management
www.vernalpools.org
More Improvements NeededMore Improvements Neededto ensure that mitigation is effective
Right now we are still operating on a wish and a prayer that the restored and
created vernal pools are recreating what is being lost.
No one is gathering sufficient information about the
impact site
Mitigation success criteria are too vague and
monitoring is too short
Translocation of species may be a genetic “ticking time
bomb”
www.vernalpools.org
Insufficient Baseline InformationInsufficient Baseline Information about the impact and mitigation sites
We don’t know enough about what is being lost to make any reasonable
determination of whether or not mitigation is working or adequate.
Species distribution – abundance and persistence
Vegetation communities – not just plants
Hydrology – vernal pools are usually in complexes
Ecosystem processes – functions and values
Metapopulation dynamics – local extirpation and
recolonization mechanisms
www.vernalpools.org
Simplistic Success CriteriaSimplistic Success Criteriain a very complicated ecosystem
Because we have not taken the time to study the dynamics of the vernal pool
ecosystem, success is generally based on a few superficial factors.
Does it hold water in the winter time, dry down in the
spring and become desiccated in the summer?
Does it have a predominance of plants associated with
vernal pools and an absence of marsh plants?
Does it contain one or more of the listed vernal pool
crustaceans?
www.vernalpools.org
Inappropriate Monitoring TimelineInappropriate Monitoring Timelineto ensure that the mitigation is successful Generally, the required monitoring period to determine if the mitigation is
successful is only 5 to 10 years.
Vernal pool organisms have a persistent seed/cyst bank
Current practice is to inoculate the (re)created pools
5 or even 10 years is not enough time to tell whether
the populations are sufficiently viable to be replacing
the seed/cyst bank, or whether it is just being depleted
Most mitigation sites have declined over time
www.vernalpools.org
Translocation IssuesTranslocation Issuesvernal pools are like clusters of islands The further apart they are, the more their resident populations may have
evolved unique genetic traits.
The practice of translocating seeds/cysts from one area
to another could have significant consequences
Genetic swamping of closely related species
Crossbreeding that leads to mortality/extirpation
We have no idea how far is “too far” to be moving
these organisms around
www.vernalpools.org
Innovative New IdeasInnovative New Ideasto overcome some of the problematic issues
Study the soils and aquatard of the mitigation site
Design pools as hydrologically interconnected
complexes
Use local inoculum to preserve genetic integrity
Use only small amounts of inoculum
Base success criteria on demonstrating that the plant
and animal populations are increasing over time
Manage for ecosystem function, not individual species
Difficult to recreate all functions
www.vernalpools.org
California Vernal PoolsCalifornia Vernal Pools an ecosystem in peril
www.vernalpools.org
An Environmentalist’s PerspectiveAn Environmentalist’s Perspective increase preservation ratios
Vernal pool (re)creation is an inexact pseudoscience and will remain so into
the foreseeable future. In the mean time we are losing natural vernal pools.
86,000 acres converted between 1997 and 2005
63% of those losses were unregulated
21,000 acres in some stage of the planning process in
Sacramento County alone
It just makes more common sense to preserve the real
thing instead of assuming that mitigation is adequate
www.vernalpools.org
Advantages of PreservationAdvantages of Preservation instead of in-kind mitigation
Takes a holistic, watershed approach to mitigation
Preserves full complement of ecosystem values
including critical upland matrix functions
Larger area-to-edge ratio helps maintain integrity
“No net loss” can be achieved through out-of-kind
(i.e. seasonal marsh) wetland buffers
Large-scale preservation of vernal pool landscapes in lieu of current in-kind,
“no net loss” mitigation provides numerous environmental advantages.
www.vernalpools.org
Disadvantages of PreservationDisadvantages of Preservation over the status quo
Large-scale preservation of vernal pool landscapes will also provide new
challenges for regulators, land use authorities, developers, planners,
environmentalists, and consultants.
Requires long-term and large-scale planning
Can be more expensive than on-site mitigation unless
third party preservation banks are available
Will result in the overall loss of some vernal pools and
the species that occupy them
www.vernalpools.org
How much Preservation?How much Preservation? current vernal pool mitigation ratios
Vernal pools are typically subject to both U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service mitigation requirements. For “smaller projects
in fragmented or degraded habitat” the usual mitigation requirement is:
2:1 preservation of vernal pool wetted acres, and
1:1 (or greater) recreation to satisfy “no net loss”
These rations are being applied to very large projects
May result in the loss of 33% of all natural vernal pools
and indirect degradation of the remaining 67%
www.vernalpools.org
Preservation Ratios Preservation Ratios how much more can we afford to lose?
2 : 1 3 : 1 4 : 1
10 : 1
The Recovery Plan for Vernal Pool Ecosystems of California and Southern Oregon (USFWS 2005) calls for protection of 85 or 95% of vernal pool habitat within numerous large core recovery units. That translates to 6.5:1 and 19:1.
www.vernalpools.org
A Conservation StrategyA Conservation Strategy for California vernal pools
Given the current condition of only 87% remaining, and the speculative nature
of (re)creation, it is imperative to formulate a vernal pool mitigation and
preservation strategy that maximizes protection of the remaining vernal pool
landscapes in California. To achieve vernal pool conservation, we must strive
toward:
A comprehensive vernal pool classification system that
includes quantitative assessment of function and value
Knowledge and distribution of locally rare vernal pool
types and special status vernal pool endemic species
www.vernalpools.org
A Conservation StrategyA Conservation Strategy for California vernal pools (continued)
An understanding of larger scale watershed function
and value with respect to vernal pool preservation areas
Increased knowledge of landscape-scale vernal pool
hydrology and how disruptions might impact long-term
ecosystem viability
What is the balance between the desire to preserve
wetlands and endangered species habitat with the need
to feed and house our growing population?
VernalPools.OrgVernalPools.Org dedicated to saving California’s vernal pool landscapes
www.vernalpools.org
For additional information, contact:
Carol W. WithamVernalPools.Org